1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotary compressor that is utilizable as a supercharger for an internal combustion engine and provided with a rotary sleeve mounted in a center housing for rotation with a plurality of vanes radially slidably fitted in a rotor which is eccentrically disposed in the rotary sleeve, and more particularly to an air-bearing room defined between the outer periphery of the rotary sleeve and the inner periphery of the center housing to floatingly support the rotary sleeve.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 58-65988 published on Apr. 19, 1983, we have shown a rotary compressor provided with a rotary sleeve interposed between a center housing and a rotor and floatingly supported by a compressible fluid. The compressor is particularly suitable for a supercharger with use for an automobile engine required to operate over a wide range of speeds. The rotary sleeve rotates together with the vanes to remove frictional heat as well as frictional wear at the apex of each vane. However, there is the possibility of a scuffing or seizing problem if air is highly compressed in the compression working space confined among the rotary sleeve, the rotor and the adjacent vanes to push the rotary sleeve from within toward the inner periphery of the center housing.